“Rest” can be defined as a state of physical, mental, and emotional relaxation or restoration in which the body and mind take a break from exertion, activity, or stress, to recover, recharge, and maintain functioning. It involves intentionally stepping away from demands or stimuli to replenish energy stores and re-establish balance.
How satisfying it is to do nothing, and then rest afterwards.
#LifeQuakeSeries
Rest is not just about making sure that you are getting enough sleep. While sleep is essential, there is much more to rest, especially during times of major life transitions. These difficult times—whether it’s a career change, moving to a new city, going through a breakup, or starting a business—are emotionally and mentally taxing, often leaving us feeling depleted in ways that sleep alone can’t fix.
In essence, rest is the act of re-energising the body, mind, and soul so that you can function optimally.
I have spent the last 3 decades looking for ways to help others manage stress, first as a medical doctor and now as a retreat host. Getting adequate rest is one of the most important ways to avoid the serious physical and mental damage that stress can cause.
Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, a physician and researcher, identified seven distinct types of rest that every individual needs to function optimally. I now specialise in helping others cope with the stress of going through major life changes. During life transitions, each of these types of rest plays a unique and vital role in helping us navigate the emotional, mental, and physical upheavals that occur.
I would like to propose another one, which I think very few of us experience regularly. Below, as a reminder, I have listed the 7 types of rest Dr Dalton-Smith has already identified. I am not sure what to call this additional type of rest. Communal rest, maybe? Or Collective Resting?
This additional type of rest was first brought to my attention by my horses. Horses rest in groups. As they are prey animals, resting in a group is a survival tactic. In nature, there will always be one that stands guard, to warn the herd of approaching predators. Here on my little farm, I have noticed that they often all rest at the same time, in a group. I’m hoping that this is because they feel safe here, that they feel safe when I’m here.
The point I am trying to make is that resting together, in a group, is beneficial for us as well. I have also noticed this during my Camino de Santiago Walking Retreats. My guests, who often have never met each other before, after a day’s walking, choose to gather together to rest in the shade of an ancient oak tree. They may initially chat a bit, but soon, eyes closed, they are resting companionably together. Safety in numbers? It would be interesting to compare the quality of the rest we get in groups with the other 7 types of rest.
I found a website where you can take part in guided resting sessions, wearing headphones, at the same time as others. While this is an admirable initiative, it is not what I have in mind. Resting in the proximity of others, hearing others breathe, is a different experience altogether.
Couples and families sometimes rest together (ex. after a family picnic) but we do not often rest in larger groups – unless you count students sleeping during a lecture. We just haven’t got the time. Maybe we should follow the horses’ example and make time?
Making sure you get All 7 types of Rest during Life Transitions
1. Physical Rest: Recharging the Body
Physical rest is about restoring the body’s energy reserves. It is the process of allowing your body to recover from physical exertion, stress, or fatigue. It involves two main forms: active and passive. Passive physical rest includes sleep and activities like lying down quietly, where your body is completely at rest, allowing your muscles to relax completely and the cells of your body to repair themselves. Active physical rest is about low-effort activities like stretching, deep breathing, or gentle walking, which promote circulation and muscle recovery without subjecting your body to any further stress. Physical rest helps prevent exhaustion, injury, and long-term fatigue.
Life transitions often lead to disrupted sleep patterns, increased stress, and physical exhaustion. Getting adequate physical rest helps the body recover from these stressors. Without physical rest, you may experience fatigue, muscle pain, and decreased immunity, making it even harder to cope with the demands of a major life change.
2. Mental Rest: Easing Cognitive Overload
Mental rest is the process of giving the brain a break from constant cognitive activity and overthinking. It involves stepping away from tasks that require intense focus, decision-making, or problem-solving to allow the mind to recharge and reset. Mental rest is crucial for enhancing concentration and productivity and improving memory and decision-making abilities.
Life transitions come with a flood of new decisions, stressful challenges, and destabilising uncertainties, often leading to mental fatigue and cognitive overload. During life transitions, mental rest allows your brain to process new information without getting overwhelmed. Major changes demand effective problem-solving skills, mastering new skills quickly, and adapting to unfamiliar circumstances, all of which require mental energy. Without mental rest, decision-making becomes harder, attention to detail decreases, and stress can manifest as forgetfulness or mental blocks.
3. Sensory Rest: Reducing Overstimulation
Sensory rest is the process of reducing or eliminating the constant stimulation from your environment, which can come from bright lights, loud noises, flickering screens, unpalatable tastes/smells, feeling too hot/cold etc. In today’s world, we are often bombarded with sensory stimuli through technology, which can leave our nerves frazzled and make us irritable.
Life transitions cause heightened emotions that make us more sensitive to external stimuli. Sensory rest helps reduce feelings of overwhelm and allows the nervous system to reset. Without sensory rest, overstimulation can lead to burnout, making it harder to focus on the tasks required to move forward in a transition.
4. Creative Rest: Boosting Inspiration and Problem-Solving Abilities
Creative rest is the process of refreshing your imagination, by allowing your brain to take a break from generating new ideas or solving complex challenges. It involves exposing yourself to sources of inspiration—such as nature, art, music, or meaningful conversations—without the pressure to actually produce or create something new.
Life transitions often require fast thinking and creative problem-solving. Whether it’s reimagining a new career path or finding creative ways to adapt to a new lifestyle, life transitions often require new approaches and adaptability. Without creative rest, you may feel uninspired, unmotivated, blocked, or stuck in a repetitive loop of outdated problem-solving strategies that no longer work for your new situation.
5. Emotional Rest: Releasing Emotional Baggage
Emotional rest happens when you allow yourself to express and process your true feelings without fear of judgment, criticism, or the pressure to meet external expectations. It involves creating opportunities to release your emotional burdens, whether through open communication, self-reflection, or simply letting go of the need to please others. Emotional rest reduces the emotional exhaustion that comes from suppressing feelings and restores emotional balance. It helps you rejuvenate by freeing you from emotional labour.
Life transitions often come with a whirlwind of emotions—fear, grief, guilt, excitement, anxiety, or a mix of all of these. During life transitions, you may feel pressured to “keep it all together.” Emotional rest allows you to acknowledge and process feelings without carrying the weight of other people’s expectations. Without emotional rest, the burden of unexpressed feelings can lead to burnout and even to severe depression.
6. Social Rest: Balancing Relationships
Social rest is the process of restoring balance in your social interactions by engaging in relationships that uplift and support you, while taking a break from those that drain your energy. It requires recognising the difference between relationships that demand emotional effort and those that are nourishing, allowing you to spend time with people who rejuvenate you rather than deplete your social energy reserves.
During life transitions, you may need extra support from your close circle while also distancing yourself from relationships that deplete your energy. Transitions often involve changes in social dynamics. Whether it’s a move, a new job, or a change in personal circumstances, your support system plays a pivotal role in how well you adjust. Social rest ensures that you’re not drained by the demands of others but instead supported by relationships that restore your energy.
7. Spiritual Rest: Finding Purpose and Connection
Spiritual rest is the process of reconnecting with a sense of purpose, meaning, and belonging, often through activities that nurture your inner self and help you feel connected to something larger than yourself. This type of rest can be experienced through religious or spiritual practices, but it also extends to any activity that gives you a deeper sense of fulfilment, whether through charity work, community service, or time spent alone in nature. You may feel disconnected, aimless, or spiritually drained without spiritual rest, leading to a sense of emptiness. Engaging in practices that ground you spiritually helps to restore your inner peace. is about connecting to something larger than yourself—whether through faith, a sense of purpose, or community.
Life transitions can make you question your purpose, identity, worth or future direction. Spiritual rest helps you find meaning and connection amid uncertainty, allowing you to stay grounded and focused on what truly matters to you. Without spiritual rest, transitions can feel directionless or overwhelming, leading to a sense of disconnection or existential fatigue as you search for stability and meaning.
The Importance of Getting All 7 Types of Rest During Transitions
Life transitions are mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausting because they demand adaptation, resilience, perseverance and emotional bandwidth. Each of the seven types of rest plays a vital role in how well we navigate these changes. Focusing on just one form of rest—like getting physical rest by sleeping—won’t address the full spectrum of exhaustion you experience.
Major life changes often push us to the edge, where burnout becomes a real risk. By addressing the seven types of rest, you prevent exhaustion from building up in one area and spilling over into others. Whether it’s coming up with creative solutions, making sound decisions, or managing emotional ups and downs, a well-rested person is more capable of handling life’s challenges.
While life transitions are temporary, the habits we form during them often last for the rest of our lives. Making sure you get all seven types of rest not only helps you get through a specific transition but also sets a foundation for long-term physical and mental health and well-being.
“A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is easy to do good, and who are not accustomed to have it done to them; then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one’s neighbor — such is my idea of happiness.” ― Leo Tolstoy